When President George W. Bush visited Topeka May 17, the Rev. Leo Barbee Jr. got to meet him, shake his hand and say a few words of support to the leader.

“I told him we were praying for him, and that I appreciated his stand on pro-life and family values,” said Barbee, pastor of Victory Bible Church, 1942 Mass.

Bush was there to mark the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark school desegregation ruling, Brown v. Board of Education.

Barbee got to meet him because he regularly volunteers in the spirit of Bush’s “USA Freedom Corps” initiative, reading to schoolchildren each week and helping to organize an annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration in Lawrence.

Barbee, interviewed Wednesday, was quick to point out that posing with Bush for an official photographer that day shouldn’t imply blanket support of all the president’s policies, such as the war in Iraq.

But Barbee — an evangelical Christian and a religious conservative — identified himself as a man for whom patriotism and belief in God are entwined.

“I am for America. I believe America is the best country in the world. I believe God has blessed America because of her faith,” Barbee said.

Millions of religious conservatives in the nation would likely agree with him if their fervent support for Bush in the November presidential election is any guide.

Impressed by Bush’s declarations of born-again Christianity and his religious language in both private and public moments, many conservative, faithful Americans have strongly identified with the president and his policies — particularly on divisive social issues such as gay marriage and abortion.

But the trend raises some questions.

Has the allegiance between Bush and religious conservatives given rise to a kind of Christian nationalism — or rather a muscular, pro-American Christianity?

And if there is a blurring of the lines between religion and country, which comes out the loser: faith or flag?

Christian heritage

There is a definite link between Christianity and American patriotism, some Lawrence pastors said, and that’s a natural outgrowth of the nation’s roots.

“If you want to use the term ‘the Bible being wrapped in the flag,’ I think that’s a fair term. I think the Bible was wrapped in the flag when our founders began our country, set up the Constitution and Bill of Rights and everything else that goes with it,” said the Rev. Paul Gray, senior pastor of Heartland Community Church, 619 Vt.

“If you objectively do the research, virtually all of our founding fathers were religious, and a large majority of them were evangelical Christians. Most of the presidents, especially in the 1700s, 1800s and early 1900s talked openly about God, prayed openly. So I think it’s sort of getting back to our roots, for those of us who understand the principles that our nation was originally built upon.”

The Rev. Scott Hanks also pointed to American history to support the view that Christianity and love of country go together naturally in this nation.

“Our patriotism didn’t come about because we’re Christians necessarily, as much as our patriotism is due to being Christians. Christians founded America. Our founding forefathers, the majority were Christian, and they were not ashamed of their faith,” said Hanks, senior pastor of Heritage Baptist Church, 1781 E. 800 Road.

Christians appreciate having similar sense of faith to president, pastors say

Hanks said “I think it’s very appropriate” for pro-Americanism to be a part of Christianity in this country.

“The blessings of God come upon a nation. There’s blessings that come upon a nation for doing right, and if we don’t have politicians who want to lead in doing right, then we’ll not have a nation doing right,” he said.

Michael Hoeflich, a professor of legal ethics and legal history at Kansas University’s law school, said he disagreed with the view that America was originally meant to be a Christian nation.

“It’s a vision of this country that, in my interpretation, was not intended by the founders. Even if they were right, that it was intended by the founders, I still don’t think that is a sufficient rationale 200 years later, because the founders also intended that there would be slavery in the country. I don’t think anyone wants to have slavery in this country, thank God.”

Sense of national mission

One Lawrence observer of American politics said there is no doubt that the line separating faith from flag has been increasingly blurred in recent years.

“I think a blind man can see this trend in national politics, and state politics, for that matter — the trend of mixing a muscular, evangelical Christianity with nationalistic policies,” said Burdett Loomis, a professor of political science at Kansas University.

“Certainly there are large parts of it (the Christian Right) that are absolutely willing to see Bush as an instrument of God’s will and that the America they see is America the strongest nation on Earth — ‘We were put here for a reason, and now we’re fulfilling that purpose.'”

Loomis said the merging of conservative Christianity with a sense of national mission was troubling.

“If you believe God is on your side, and you are confident in your use of the military, that ratchets up your confidence level a lot in what you’re doing. Bush is not a very introspective guy. He’s convinced that what he’s doing is right,” he said.

“If, at the same time, you are convinced not just by the politics of it or the national interest of it, but (by) the fact that you’re in some way doing God’s will, then why would you ever question yourself?”

The Rev. Peter Luckey said that he is worried by claims — on behalf of some Christians — of divine appointment for Bush, or uncritical affirmation of his policies.

“As a Christian pastor, it deeply concerns me, not that it is not possible to be deeply patriotic and to believe in a message of the Gospel at the same time. What does concern me is that religion is used and exploited to endorse a particular political position,” said Luckey, senior pastor of Plymouth Congregational Church, 925 Vt.

“Faith comes off the loser. Faith itself is compromised because it’s no longer an end to itself; it’s a means to a political end.”